It’s not D-day but B-Day in India. We are talking about Budget.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is all poised to present her ninth consecutive Budget today (February 1) and this presentation is breaking tradition in more ways than one.
Firstly, today’s Budget is being presented on a
Sunday. Earlier, the Budget used to be presented on the last working day of February. In 1999, when February 28 fell on a Sunday, then Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government presented it a day earlier, on February 27, a Saturday.
Also, today’s Budget will break a 75-year tradition; Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to present an extensively detailed Part B segment of the financial document in her address, and not Part A, scripting what many expect to be a budget of reforms.
But what is Part A and Part B of the Budget? What does it signify that the finance minister will focus on Part B? Here’s what we know.
What’s Part B of Budget that Sitharaman will focus on?
Typically, finance ministers focus on Part A of the Budget in their speech — this includes the state of the economy and lays out broad policy direction. Think detailed fiscal announcements and numerical data.
However, this time around,
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to focus on Part B of the Budget, which is largely restricted to tax proposals and technical announcements. Government sources have noted that the finance minister is likely to speak at length in Part B, marking a clear departure from earlier Budget speeches where the section consisted of only a few announcements.
According to a report in The Federal, Part B is also expected to highlight changes to frameworks to create a more integrated and effective.
Furthermore, trade and customs reforms are expected to feature in Part B. The Narendra Modi government is preparing a fresh overhaul of India’s customs duty framework, including proposals to rationalise basic customs duty slabs and simplify procedures. The objective is to reduce compliance burdens, minimise disputes especially classification-related litigation and improve predictability for firms operating in global value chains.
Experts also expect that Part B will outline changes to export and manufacturing frameworks, including proposals to merge existing schemes such as Special Economic Zones, Export Oriented Units and the MOOWR regime into a Unified Export and Manufacturing Zone.
“Part B of the Budget speech will place strong emphasis on both short-term and long-term goals,” sources were quoted as saying, adding that it would reflect India’s economic vision and priorities as the country moves deeper into the second quarter of the 21st century.
They said Part B will go beyond immediate tax proposals to outline a strategic road map aimed at positioning India more prominently on the global stage. The idea, they said, is to showcase India’s local strengths, current economic capabilities and future growth potential, as well as the policy direction required to sustain momentum over the coming years. “The idea is to lay out a broader, long-term vision,” a government official was quoted as telling the Economic Times.
According to experts, this is a notable departure from the past, as earlier speeches typically contained extensive detail in Part A, while Part B remained relatively brief.
Why the change though?
According to officials, Nirmala Sitharaman’s focus on Part B will reflect India’s priorities as it moves deeper into the 21st century, offering a clearer roadmap for leveraging domestic strengths and positioning the economy more competitively on the global stage.
According to an NDTV report, Part B of the Budget is also expected to present a roadmap to elevate India’s local strengths on the global stage. The government may use this platform to highlight sectors where India already holds competitive advantages, while projecting the nation’s economic potential over the coming decades.
The move also comes at a time when India is facing geopolitical uncertainties — there’s the Russia-Ukraine war that continues and Donald Trump’s tariff regime. The government is keen to use the Budget speech to spell out a long-term policy statement to reassure foreign investors.
What was in last year’s Plan B of the Budget?
To understand better what to expect from this year’s Budget speech, here’s a look at what was in last year’s Plan B of the Budget speech.
One of the first announcements in the Plan B of last year’s Budget was exempting income up to Rs 12 lakh (excluding capital gains) from tax under the new regime.
In last year’s Plan B of the Budget, small charitable trusts/institutions were given the benefit by increasing their period of registration from five to 10 years, reducing compliance burden. Moreover, tax payers were allowed to claim annual value of two self-occupied properties as NIL, without any condition.
Thirty-six lifesaving drugs and medicines for treating cancer, rare diseases and chronic diseases were been fully exempted from Basic Customs Duty.
All in all, it seems Budget 2026 is set to be historic — be it the day it is being announced or the way in which it will be presented.
With inputs from agencies
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